“The passionate environmentalists say stop selling them altogether, while the pragmatists say make it as easy as you can for customers to use fewer plastic bottles. We are looking carefully at both options. I tend towards the pragmatist end myself.”

He continued by announcing: “Starting today, all three Veggie Pret shops (extending to our Manchester shops by the end of the month) will be encouraging customers to fill up their bottles for free using new filtered water stations.

“These shops will also start selling two sizes of reusable glass bottles alongside our regular water bottles, so the choice is clear. The aim is to understand if customers will choose to refill a bottle rather than buying a new plastic one.”

Schlee ended by saying: “The trial of reusable bottles and taps in our Veggie Pret and Manchester shops is just the start of Pret trying to do more when it comes to packaging. As always, I welcome your views on what we can do to make the most impact in this area.”

Having a large, major chain take a big step towards a future that involves less plastic would be hugely beneficial for the environment. As demand for plastic items dops, less plastic would be produced. As we all know, plastic takes millions of years to degrade and is deadly for so much of the Earth’s wildlife.

As we all know, plastic takes millions of years to degrade and is deadly for so much of the Earth’s wildlife.

Nathaniel comes from a background of cycling and fitness. After eating a regular diet for most of his life, he came across the vegan lifestyle 3 years ago and has never looked back. Nat considers himself an animal lover, environmentalist and keen cyclist while promoting the vegan lifestyle along the way.

He’s now a registered personal trainer, gym instructor and currently working his way towards a Sport, Fitness and Coaching degree.